pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: love


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Refined and Purified

Reading: Malachi 3: 1-4

Verse 3: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

Photo credit: Kim West

Today in Malachi we move forward from the ancient to the present. The process that God described as necessary for the priests and the temple is also necessary for our faith development. John the Baptist began the process as he prepared the way for the one who would call each of us into a personal relationship with the Lord our God. It is through this relationship that we are refined and purified.

In verse three we read, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” No matter how we come to Christ as Lord and Savior – whether through a slow and steady process or in a moment of sudden realization of our need – all who believe come to a moment of decision. At that moment we ask Jesus into our heart, into our lives. We make a commitment to giving Jesus authority over all areas of our lives. We commit our time, energy, resources, talents, finances… to loving God/Jesus and neighbor more than self. Just as a couple joins hands and commits to a lifelong covenant, so too do we in this moment of decision. We commit to love no matter what.

If you are or ever have been married or been in a long-term relationship, you know that some days it is hard to love the other. Our own selfish desires and many other distractions cause us to stumble and to fail to honor our commitment. Here is where the refiner and purifier steps in. Over and over Jesus Christ, through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, calls us back to love. Through the process of conviction, confession, repentance, and forgiveness we are refined and purified. Each time through we are remade again, each time a little closer to the image of God within us. For our part we must stay connected to Jesus Christ through worship, study, prayer… We also must remain open to the voice and nudge of the Holy Spirit and to the working of God in our lives. If so we will become more and more like those Malachi speaks of: people who offer all of ourselves to God and neighbor in righteousness. May it be so for us all.

Prayer: Lord God, open my eyes and heart to hearing and knowing your voice. Drive down my pride and ego so that I may see my faults and sins. Elevate my humility so that I gladly accept your loving hand, leading, guiding, correcting, refining, purifying. Moment by moment make me more like you. Amen.


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Be Always Alert

Reading: Luke 21: 29-36

Verse 34: “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down… and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.”

In our second half of the Luke 21 passage Jesus first calls us to see the signs of new life all around us. In the natural world the leaves sprout as the weather warms, indicating new life on the way. In the world of faith, Jesus calls us to see the signs of new life all around us. When we are aware of Jesus’ presence in and around us, we live fully in the kingdom of God here on earth. This is one of the invitations of the Advent season.

In our lives we can become so busy this time of year. Busyness is one of our main distractions. In verse 34 Jesus warns against this, saying, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down… and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” Be careful or January 1 will suddenly be here. Be careful or we will miss the “Christ” in Christmas. Jesus is spot on in what distracts us. He begins with “dissipation” – the wasteful consumption of material things. Just one more present… a Christmas a little bigger and better than last year… Jesus then moves on to “drunkenness”. This entails more than alcohol. Can’t we fit in just one more party? Can’t we fit just a few more guests around the table? Can you pass the mashed potatoes? He closes this list with “the anxieties of life”. We can worry about pleasing friends and family. We can stress about being enough, doing enough, giving enough. We can worry about paying the tab – both monetarily and physically – after the holidays end. All of these things can distract us from the signs of new life all around us during this Advent season.

This Advent season, may we “be always on the watch”, living fully in the light and love of Jesus Christ present all around us. To see them we must look for the signs of Christ during this season. Doing so may we live a life worthy of our calling, thus sharing the light and love with the world.

Prayer: Lord God, each day draw me to your light and love. Open my heart and eyes to signs of your love all around me. Light up this season with your presence. Amen.


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Modeling Our Belief

Reading: 1st Thessalonians 3: 9-13

Verse 12: “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else.”

Photo credit: Christopher Beloch

Our passage today speaks again of love. Paul begins by thanking God for the joy found in the church in Thessalonica. Paul longs to be with them and to continue to encourage them in their faith. Paul asks that God would “clear the way” for him and his companions to return. Even though Paul fled under duress and even though the church is still being persecuted, Paul still longs to return to his brothers and sisters in Christ.

It is into this reality that Paul writes verse twelve. Now more than ever must the love of God be made known. Here he writes, “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else.” To make love known, it is first God who supplies the love and the power to increase that love. God is the source; God is the one that makes it grow. Second, faith begins with love for one another. Living out their faith in a hostile world required a deep bond between the believers. They could comfort and encourage and support and strengthen one another. Third, their faith was modeled in how they loved the world around them – those in need, those who were searching, and even those who persecuted them. Love for the other was their primary public witness to their faith and to God’s love for all of creation.

The church modeled love. Loving God, loving one another, and loving the world around them, the early church modeled their belief, their faith. As followers of Jesus Christ they were strengthened, made more blameless and more holy, readied ever more for the day of the Lord. May we too model this belief, growing day by day in our faith. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, today may I love you with my whole heart. In my life may that love overflow into the lives of all I meet – into all the world! Amen.


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Love and Faithfulness

Reading: Psalm 25: 1-10

Verses 9-10: “God guides the humble in what is right and teaches them the way. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful.”

Photo credit: Aaron Burden

Psalm 25 expresses the love of God for us. David expresses his trust in God and the hope that he has in God in the opening verses. David desires that that this trust and hope carries him through the difficult times of life – when “enemies” are all around him.

The Psalm shifts in verse four. In this verse and the next David asks God to “show me… teach me… guide me.” The way, the path, the truth are what David wants to learn from God. Many years later the branch of David that Jeremiah spoke of, Jesus Christ, will proclaim that he is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Just as David found with God, we too find that when we walk with Jesus, “my hope is in you all day long.” This hope is built upon relationship. Relationship grows through time together.

In verses nine and ten we read, “God guides the humble in what is right and teaches them the way. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful.” Humility is a necessary ingredient in our relationship with God. It was one of Jesus’ strongest traits. To be humble recognizes that we always have more to learn, that we can always move closer to God. When we fail to be humble we quickly find ourselves on our own path, going our own way, living out our own truths. Humility keeps us in the right relationship with God and with ourselves.

The way of God is the way of love and faithfulness. These are also built upon humility. To love God and to love neighbor requires placing self at the end of the line. To be faithful requires choosing over and over to walk in God’s ways, on God’s path, into God’s truths. As we seek to live out our faith in these ways may we ever look to Jesus, the humble servant. Doing so love and faithfulness will become the core of who and whose we are. May it be so for you and for me.

Prayer: Lord God, day by day draw me deeper into relationship, deeper into walking in the footsteps of Jesus. Guide me in humility, recognizing you alone as the source of love, hope, truth. Keep me ever faithful to you alone, O Lord. Amen.


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Loving Unconditionally

Reading: Jeremiah 33:16

Verse 16: “This is the name by which he will be called: the Lord our righteousness.”

Photo credit: Freestocks

Jeremiah speaks of a day that is coming. His words of hope point to a future with hope. The righteous branch that will sprout “in those days” will do what is right. In today’s verse we again read, “This is the name by which he will be called: the Lord our righteousness.” Jeremiah points forward to the day when “Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety.” Jesus came and was this branch, this champion of justice and righteousness. He set the example of unconditional love. Jesus cast the vision for the kingdom that could be. Those with power were threatened by this vision. Jesus was crucified. Ever since then we have struggled to follow his example, to make this vision of a just and righteous world a reality.

As people of faith we long for a just and righteous world. We long for a society where all people have value and worth, where all people have food, shelter, community. Yet these remain goals only; these longings are simply not the reality. We live in a world that has long followed different goals. Accumulating power and authority and wealth has long been the guiding forces for many. We have long been a nation of haves and have nots. As those with power have taken, a trail of oppressed, marginalized, and abused peoples have been left, scattered across our history. Pockets of these people can be found in our cities, on our reservations, and in small communities left behind as a industry moved on and as technology advanced beyond them. Left behind the have nots struggle with poverty, hunger, homelessness, gangs, addictions, and more. There are many, many, many places in our nation where we would not want our children or grandchildren to grow up. Safety and well-being are scarce in these places.

As people of faith, how do we respond to these realities? First, we acknowledge that these struggles are present in most of our communities. Second, we become intentional about knowing our neighbors, the folks just up the road. Third, we make ways to minister to them. One family at a time, one person at a time, we share the unconditional love of Jesus Christ, giving instead of taking, transforming lives and the world in which we live. May it be so.

Prayer: Lord God, give us eyes to see the needs all around us. In many ways and in many places may we begin to step into the hardships and into the darkness, bringing love and hope and light to those without. Give us the courage to change the world. Give us the strength to love all of our neighbors unconditionally. May it begin with me. Amen.


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Freedom, Justice, Righteousness

Reading: Jeremiah 33: 14-15

Verse 15: “I will make a righteous branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land”.

This week’s readings begin with two days in Jeremiah 33. This chapter is titled “Promise of Restoration” in my Bible. Jeremiah was a prophet who spoke to Israel during a time of difficulty. The Israelites were under the domination of the Assyrians and then the Babylonians. They longed for freedom and a time when they could fully live as the people of God. The Israelites desired to live under God’s leadership alone, to return to a time when justice and goodness were the norm. These desires are some of the deepest desires of every human being. All of humanity desires freedom, justice, and goodness to be the hallmarks of their society and communities.

Speaking to these people living in captivity, Jeremiah proclaims these words from God: “I will make a righteous branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land”. The just and good leader will be Jesus Christ. Born in the city of David, born in the family tree, will be the baby Jesus. About 600 years before God arrived in the flesh, Jeremiah points to this fulfillment of God’s promise made to David. Jeremiah speaks of a leader who will be “just and right”. In the healings and restorative works that he offered, Jesus certainly treated those on the edges and margins with justice. He valued them; he saw them as worthy and beloved. He freed them from the bonds that separated them from community. In all he said and did, Jesus modeled righteousness. Being fully obedient to God, Jesus gave us the perfect example of what it looks like to love God with all that we are and to love neighbor as self. Jesus embodied freedom and justice and goodness.

As we draw near to the season of Advent may we seek to follow Jesus’ example, living a life of freedom in Christ, bearing justice for all, and bringing goodness to all. May it be so!

Prayer: Lord God, what an awesome example Jesus set for us. Use me today to share your love with others, enabling them to experience and know the freedom, justice, and righteousness that you offer to the world. Amen.


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Reflect the Reign

Reading: Psalm 132: 10-18

Verse 13: “The Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling.”

Today we turn to the second half of Psalm 132. The main theme continues to be relationship. This section of the Psalm begins with the Davidic covenant – God’s promise to David that his descendant would be on the throne forever and ever. This promise would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. In verse thirteen we read, “The Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling.”

Many years after these words were written God incarnate came to Israel and dwelled among the people. Jesus came and revealed what God’s love looks like when lived out to the full. Jesus took God’s love out into the world. On the back roads, by the seashore, in the temple and synagogues, by wells, in homes and on hillsides – here Jesus met folks where and how they were. Whenever and wherever, he ministered to all he met. Jesus prayed, fasted, worshipped God. He also walked into valleys and dark places, sharing the hope and healing found in relationship with God. Here Jesus experienced the pain and suffering of the world. Here Jesus brought love, peace, comfort, and strength.

Today is “Reign of Christ” Sunday in many of our churches. As we end the Christian year and move towards Advent next Sunday, may we remember Jesus’ example of love and may we strive to live and love with Jesus Christ reigning on the throne of our hearts. In the interactions we have with friends and family and with the stranger and the outcast, may all we say and do reflect the reign of Jesus Christ in our lives.

Prayer: Lord God, may your reign in my life be more than words on a page. In my actions may others see your love being lived out. In my words may others hear your love being made known and shared. Fill me with your love and pour me out into the world. Amen.


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Build God’s Kingdom

Reading: John 18: 35-37

Verse 37: “In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world: to testify to the truth.”

Photo credit: Alex Woods

As Pilate tries to figure out what to do with Jesus, Jesus informs him that his kingdom is “not of this world.” Jesus’ kingdom does not have its foundation built upon earthly things. His kingdom is not built upon military or political power, upon wealth or physical strength. Jesus’ kingdom is built upon love and mercy, generosity and compassion, empathy and care, forgiveness and reconciliation, relationship and connection. These are some of the truths of Jesus’ kingdom. With our earthly kingdoms we attach ourselves to this candidate or to that leader for a short season. But with Jesus’ kingdom our commitment, our relationship, our attachment is both for now and on into forever.

When we claim to be part of Jesus’ kingdom here on earth, this is a bold statement. If we call Jesus the Lord of our lives, we are committing to a constant review of this claim. We must ever ask ourselves if Jesus is truly in control over our decisions, our finances, our talents, our resources. We must not only live out the truths listed above, but we must also share the good news of Jesus Christ with all in our circles and with all we meet in the wider world. Doing so others will come to call Jesus the Lord of their lives. Those we minister to and form relationships with should mirror Jesus’ life and ministry. Our hearts too should be bent towards the ones on the edges – the poor and needy, the hurting and the broken, the least and the lost.

Jesus’ kingdom is not of this earth. Yet it is here and now. And it is to come. We await its fuller revelation. As we live in right relationship with God and with our neighbors, we are building God’s kingdom here on earth. May it ever be so.

Prayer: Lord God, remind me over and over that you are Lord of my life. Turn me from the cares and pleasures of this world towards your truths, towards those that your eyes see. Use all of me and all that I have to make disciples of Christ for the transformation of the world. May your kingdom come and may your will be done. Amen.


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Choose to Love

Reading: Revelation 1: 6-8

Verse 8: “I am the Alpha and Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Today’s portion of Revelation 1 describes Christ’s return “in the clouds.” In this moment “every eye will see him.” Even those who pierced Jesus will see him for who he truly is when he returns in glory. I believe that this includes those who actually carried out his crucifixion as well as those who have pierced Jesus’ heart since that day. On the day of Christ’s return all people will see him for who he truly is.

During his ministry on earth many failed to see Jesus for who he was – God in the flesh. There were many factors that went into this – just as there are today. It is hard the not be seen for who we are. Can you recall a time when others did not see you for who you truly were? In those moments we feel less than, discounted, marginalized. A part of us inside wants to scream, to shout, ‘Look at me!’

The reality for most of us is that we have failed and do fail to see others for who they are. One way we do this is to avoid interacting with others who don’t look like, act like, think like, or believe like we do. Another way we do this is when we dismiss others based on stereotypes, prejudices, gossip, rumors… A third way we do this is by condemning, judging, degrading… others. We make ourselves feel superior and the other inferior. This keeps a wall or barrier between us and them.

Jesus experiences all of these things. The religious leaders and political rulers saw and treated Jesus as the other. Jesus didn’t act and look and practice faith as they did. Jesus did not fit inside their box. He was discounted, marginalized, made to feel less than. Jesus walked through all of this in love. The one “who is, and who was, and who is to come” understood what it meant to love those who hated, judged, and condemned. The one who is the “Alpha and Omega” – the beginning and the end – knew that love wins in the end. Jesus chose to love those that others did not see and even to love those who did not see him for who he was. May we do the same.

Prayer: Lord God, what love Jesus had for one and all. As is yours, his heart was bent towards the orphan and widow, towards the outcast and the other. Bend my heart to these too, O God. Jesus also loved those who hurt and rejected him. What great love! Empower me to love those who harm and bring suffering to me. God, help me to love all as you love me. Amen.


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The Way of Jesus Christ

Reading: Revelation 1: 4b-5

Verses 4-5: “Grace and peace… from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”

The greeting in the book of Revelation begins with a description of Jesus. As the book unfolds the power and majesty of Jesus becomes more and more evident. John begins our passage today by extending the grace and peace of the Lord to those who will read his book. These two things are needed as one reads and ponders this book. May grace and peace be ours as we delve deeper.

Jesus is first described as “the faithful witness.” Taking on flesh, walking among humanity, teaching and healing as extensions of God’s love, Jesus gave us the model for how to live in the world. Ever faithful to the will and way of God, witnessing to the power of love to transform lives, Jesus calls each of us to follow in his footsteps as we daily walk out our faith.

Jesus is also “the firstborn from the dead.” Able to live a perfect life, one without sin, one filled with obedience to God, Jesus was able to be the perfect sacrifice. In offering himself for us, Jesus broke the power of sin. Taking sin upon himself, paying the price for our sin with his life, Jesus entered the tomb. This grave could not contain him either. On the third day he rose to life, once again joining God in heaven. Returning to God’s side Jesus intercedes for us, continuing to love humanity unconditionally.

Lastly, Jesus is “the ruler of the kings of the earth.” Yes, one day every knee will bow. One day this will be totally and obviously true. In our day and age, though, this seems a long way off. Many leaders today are focused on their own truths, on their own will and way. When these two things do not align, they bend the truth to fit their needs. Humble servant and ruler (or leader) do not seem to go together any more. As people and as communities of faith, we have a role to play in bending this back towards God. It begins by us modeling the way of Jesus in all we do – at work or at school, in our activities and hobbies, in our relationships and in our families. We too are to be a “faithful witness.” When we live with unconditional love for God and for neighbor we naturally are humble servants. Beginning with the reign of Christ fully evident in our own lives may we draw others into his kingdom of love and grace and peace.

Prayer: Lord God, guide me to be unconditional love to all I meet. Use me to spread your love abroad in the world. May your grace and peace also flow from me, out and into the lives of those needing your transforming power. Amen.